MediaNews has considered buying Morning Call

Denver company also expressed interest in the paper 21 years ago.

September 26, 2006|By Kurt Blumenau Of The Morning Call

One scenario in the possible breakup of media giant Tribune Co. would have The Morning Call sold along with several Connecticut papers to MediaNews Group, which previously asked about buying the Lehigh Valley newspaper.

MediaNews of Denver, the fourth-largest newspaper company in the country, has talked with Tribune about buying the Lehigh Valley's largest paper and the Hartford Courant, America's oldest continuously published newspaper, according to a report Sunday in the Chicago Tribune, which cited unnamed sources.

William Dean Singleton, chief executive officer of MediaNews, which is known for its lean, cost-cutting approach to operating papers, could not be reached Monday. Tribune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman declined to comment.

In a statement, Morning Call Publisher Timothy R. Kennedy said he didn't want to speculate on the paper's future.

"While Tribune management begins the process of exploring strategic alternatives under the oversight of the board's independent committee, I don't want to speculate about the future of The Morning Call. It is simply too early in this process to know what the outcome might be.

"The Morning Call is an extremely valuable newspaper, so I understand all the media speculation. Our focus, however, must be on continuing to serve our readers, advertisers and community. I am confident that through the hard work of our employees day in and day out, The Morning Call will remain the most trusted news brand in the Lehigh Valley."

Tribune Co. of Chicago is considering the sale or spin-off of many of its properties after months of pressure from shareholders disappointed by the company's stock performance. Last week, Tribune appointed a committee of seven independent directors to evaluate possible strategic moves, with plans to report back by year's end.

Tribune management wants to spin off most of the company's TV stations in a tax-favorable deal, sell some of its smaller papers and take the remainder of the company private in a leveraged buyout, the Chicago Tribune reported. Company officials have not publicly confirmed that.

MediaNews owned the Express-Times of Easton from 1994 to 2000, when it sold the paper to its current owner, Advance Publications.

A former Morning Call publisher said CEO Singleton expressed an interest in The Morning Call as far back as 1985, when the Miller family sold the paper to Times Mirror, owner of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers. Tribune bought Times Mirror for $8 billion in 2000. The Chandler family, former owner of Times Mirror, is the largest owner of Tribune stock and led the recent push for changes at the company.

Bernard Stinner, Morning Call publisher 1981-87, said MediaNews was one of several publishing companies to contact The Morning Call after the Miller family announced its sale to Times Mirror. Singleton asked Morning Call officials to call him if the Times Mirror purchase fell through, Stinner recalled Monday. But the deal closed, and Singleton never got the chance to meet the Millers or make an offer, Stinner said.

MediaNews made a deal with Times Mirror two years later, when it bought the Denver Post.

MediaNews Group already owns newspapers in Pennsylvania: in Chambersburg, Franklin County; Lebanon; and Hanover and York in York County.

At least one media analyst, John Morton of Morton Research in Silver Spring, Md., believes the sale of The Morning Call and other, smaller papers is more likely than a deal involving one of Tribune's marquee papers. Morton said Tribune would face a sizable tax bill if it sold its largest papers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

FitzSimons has specifically said the Los Angeles paper is not for sale, even though Tribune has received offers from local buyers.

If The Morning Call were put up for sale, other potential suitors could be media companies with nearby papers, Morton said two weeks ago. That's because major media players tend to focus on specific areas.

By that logic, other candidates could be Advance Publications of Staten Island, N.Y., and the Journal Register Co. of Yardley, Bucks County.

Advance owns The Morning Call's closest daily rival, the Express-Times; the weekly Allentown Times and the daily Patriot-News of Harrisburg. It also owns dailies in Newark and Trenton, N.J.

The Journal Register owns 27 daily newspapers, including a group of smaller dailies in the Philadelphia suburbs. It owns Berks-Mont Newspapers of Boyertown, which publishes two weekly papers in The Morning Call's circulation area, the Saucon News and the Free Press of Quakertown. It also launched weekly newspapers in the Lehigh Valley this spring.

Advance and the Journal Register have declined to comment whether they would be interested in bidding for The Morning Call.